The downside of playing Chess, could there be such a thing? But Chess is amazing. It’s one of the most satisfying feelings winning a game of Chess. However, on the other side of the coin, it’s also one of the worst feelings to lose a game.
There are a few disadvantages of playing Chess. In this article, we talk about the negative effects of playing Chess so you become away of the potential downfalls and cons that could come to haunt you.
Negative Effects of Chess
- Minimizes Physical Activity
- Time Consuming
- Limits In-Person Socialization
- Addiction
- Causes Personality Disorders
- Triggers Physical, Emotional, and Mental Stress
- Induces Unrealistic Goal Setting
From the simplicity and complexity of each game to the intricate designs of the chess pieces, you can always tell that chess is an interesting game. To master the game, you must understand that when playing, critical thinking is the pertinent factor. As it is in life, you must think critically before making any decisions. Still, does the game have any negative impacts?
Like any game, chess does have negative effects. Here are the top 7 evidence-based ways that chess can affect you negatively.
1. Minimizes Physical Activity
It is undeniable that chess is good for the mind but many folks keep raising questions regarding its impacts on physical well-being. Playing chess requires sitting throughout the whole match, which sometimes can last longer than anticipated.
The continuous and elongated time spent playing the game may result in dealing with the aftermath of the lack of adequate physical activities. For instance, one can experience weight gain, high blood pressure, and cardiovascular-related complications. For older adults and seniors, chess can be the best way to unwind and relax the mind but the more they play, the higher the prevalence of chronic diseases. Some scientists question this impact but the facts remain arguable.
2. Time Consuming
Chess can take too much of your time, especially if you are a beginner. First, you will have to learn the rules, which may slightly differ according to your history and nationality. After mastering the rules, you must practice, which can be time-consuming as you are still in your demonstration phase.
Once you become an expert, you still have to dedicate a lot of work to extra practice and competition, especially if you intend to pursue professional chess. Evidence shows that the amount of work, resources, and ambition you put into chess must match the drive for one to be an expert player (Andreas, 2021).
3. Limits In-Person Socialization
In this age of civilization, technology inadvertently promotes embracing individualism as opposed to communism. People are continually moving away from traditional methods of socialization to virtual platforms that limit the touch of physical interaction.
Modern games worsen the situation as most of them have been virtualized, and chess is not any different, whether physical or online. A distinct feature of chess is that only two players can play simultaneously, limiting your chance to interact with other players or fans (Lastima & Gayoles, 2020).
4. Addiction
Once you develop a habit, it hardly dies. The best way to avoid creating addiction is by evading all opportunities that predispose you to make the first attempt towards the behavior.
Chess is a great game, and it feels great to know that your strategies and playing tactics can supersede those of a friend or an opponent. Scientific evidence indicates that chess plays an integral role in shaping the individualism of different behavioral patterns among children (Mihailov & Savulescu, 2018).
Nonetheless, chess becomes a problem when it develops into a habit rather than an occasional playtime activity.
5. Causes Personality Disorders
There is this stereotype in the Chess world that playing the game can drive you mad, the legendary Paul Morphy is always referenced when this topic comes up. This is not entirely incorrect because there is evidence from both amateur and professional chess players over the years relating to personality complications.
Reliable evidence from the Chess Forum illustrates that professional and beginner chess players have been heavily associated with eccentric personalities and nervous disorders (Chess.com, 2021). Odd or eccentric disorders include paranoia and schizotypal disorder.
Personality disorders include borderline personality disorder and narcissism. Fearful personalities include obsession and over-dependency. Professional Chess players can enjoy the benefits of prizes or monetary compensation, which can counter the effects of these health complications.
6. Triggers Physical, Emotional, and Mental Stress
Expert chess playing necessitates divulging all your emotional, physical, and mental energy towards a single point. This stress can be overwhelming, especially for beginners with high expectations. Chess players take a lot of time, resources, energy, and expectations in training and competing for the games.
This preparation tags along with an unforeseen pressure on the player’s psychological, cognitive, and physical well-being. Recent reliable scientific evidence proves that chess causes emotional, physical, and mental stress whether the player wins or loses (Fuentes-García et al., 2020).
7. Induces Unrealistic Goal Setting
When you first learn how to play chess, you feel like you never want it to end, more so if you have the passion. A few lessons and practice make you perfect, and now you want to join the expert chess player league.
You choose to pursue professional chess, but you are not fully aware of the potential ramifications of failing to achieve your dreams. Soon you realize that the completion is tougher than you thought, so you are on the verge of giving up. You forget how far you have come all because you set the bar too high.
Conclusion
With any good, there is always bad to go with it. When you put your life into something, especially Chess, other aspects of your life must go down. It comes down to whether or not it’s worth it. To become great a Chess, to achieve a title like International Master or Grandmaster. I think we would all agree that it’s absolutely worth it.
Of course, that doesn’t mean you can’t take care of yourself with the small amount of time you’d have left in the day after studying and playing Chess. Listen to your body and rest when it’s needed. You’ll stay healthy and improve more efficiently as well.
Sources
Andreas. (2021). Advantages & disadvantages of chess. Global Awareness UG. https://environmental-conscience.com/playing-chess-pros-cons/
Chess.com. (2021). 10 Personality disorders of chess players. Chess Forums. https://www.chess.com/forum/view/general/10-personality-disorders-of-chess-players
Fuentes-García, J. P., Patiño, M. J. M., Villafaina, S., & Clemente-Suárez, V. J. (2020). The effect of COVID-19 confinement in behavioral, psychological, and training patterns of chess players. Frontiers in psychology, 11. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7516050/
Lastima, D. G., & Gayoles, L. A. M. (2020). Effects of Chess Training on the Psychological Well-Being of Children in Conflict with the Law. Philippine Social Science Journal, 3(2), 137-138.
Mihailov, E., & Savulescu, J. (2018). Social policy and cognitive enhancement: Lessons from chess. Neuroethics, 11(2), 115-127. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12152-018-9354-y#citeas
